It Never Got Weird Enough for Me

Call of Duty: Ghosts Bustin’

Logan Walker and his brother David ‘Hesh’ Walker have no idea that their father, Elias, was a member of a rumored squad called ‘Ghosts’. They find this out after a massive attack sets the world into chaos and this squad is sent into action to stop their enemies from taking over. Working with their father, these young men must grow up quickly and earn their keep in the Ghosts squad.

On a technical level, this game played just like previous Call of Duty games. Graphics were crisp and deep on my Xbox One. Not sure how the game looks on other consoles. Even with the newest console sometimes the game play can be ‘clunky’ or haphazard. I like the Infinity Ward games better than the Treyarch contributions but it feels like both studios just keep doing the same thing over and over.

Typical of the Call of Duty series is a bland and mundane campaign. Not much to say here other than the obvious. Even with that said, I did enjoy playing through the campaign. There were lots of moments when I rolled my eyes and out loud said “Are you kidding me?”. The writers took a lot of short cuts to try to conjure connections between the characters. Rather than developing a bond between Elias as a commander and his soldiers, they just made his soldiers his sons for the instant bond. The more ridiculous scenario was including the son’s dog. It seemed unnecessary to say the least.

Obviously the most popular part of Call of Duty is the multiplayer. It is also the feature that I care for the least. On my first game of team deathmatch I was reminded of what I did not like – young kids and jerks screaming in my ear and people running around with knives and shotguns. Even in a new game the old tactics are tired and annoying but that is just something you have to accept. The maps feel like recreations of old maps and don’t cover any new ground. I didn’t play any of the Squads mode so I can’t say anything for or against it. I did, however, play a lot of the Extinction mode. This is the mode with alien enemies that four players must work their way through an area completing objectives. If you get matched with players that know what they are doing and work as a team the experience is great and highly enjoyable. On the flip side, if you are matched with players who don’t understand or know the scenario or run off and do their own thing you will probably walk away frustrated and disappointed.

In the end, it all comes down to whether you like Call of Duty or not. I bought this game for the Xbox One because there was no other game available at its release that interested me. Had it not been for that, I may have rented this title at some point just to play it. Overall, I will say that this game is as good as any other Call of Duty entry. Not being big on multiplayer action sort of lowers its value for me.

This game is still going for the full retail price of $60 at both Amazon and GameStop if you happen to be interested in it. Maybe I should have bought Battlefield 4 like I said I would but it is having problems of its own.